County council officers have since rebutted claims that Knaphill is the poor relation of Woking and assured residents negotiations are taking place to acquire a lease on a suitable premises. At a meeting of the county council’s local committee for Woking on April 26, the Knaphill Community Library Association asked for a fresh report on plans for a replacement library in the village. Association secretary Alan Wardle demanded to know how much longer Knaphill would be overlooked for library provision. Chris Norris, head of libraries for Surrey, confirmed a commitment to Knaphill library as a priority, saying: “Suitable shop premises have been identified and the estates service is negotiating with the landlord regarding a lease. “When these negotiations have reached an appropriate stage, work will be undertaken on the detail of conversion of the shop premises to a library. “We intend to consult interested people to get their views before finalising the specification. “The county council does not accept the charge that people in Knaphill and the surrounding areas are poorly served by the library service owing to the proximity of the Woking library, which is used by many Knaphill residents. “The 1964 Public Libraries Act and the subsequent Public Library Standards relate to the adequacy of a library service and not any individual library.” The library, which opened in 1955, was given a life-span of between 15 and 20 years by the county architect in 1958. In 1974 the county council said it was “unsatisfactory” with a replacement “urgently stressed.” In November 2002 Knaphill library was described by the Audit Commission as “unsuitable for the purpose” of housing a library during its audit of county library services. Mr Wardle said: “Why does the council find it so difficult to replace a building described as unsuitable by the Audit Commission? “Last June head of libraries told members of Knaphill library association steering group he was confident Knaphill library would be in new premises within a year. “Some fast and effective action would seem to be required to bring that about. “Surrey cannot be allowed to make more excuses for treating this area so badly for so long.”